The Spider's Web
by Ariebelle
Summary: Lady Zella of Ider’s Peak has never told her daughter about her past. She had tried to forget it herself. But now it is said that Lady Zella is going mad, and Arania must go on a journey to find out about her mother’s past to save her. Full summary inside
1. Prologue

**The Spider's Web**

**By: Ariella24**

**Prologue: Lady Zella**

**Summary: Lady Zella of Ider's Peak has never told her daughter about her past. She had tried to forget it herself. But now it is said that Lady Zella is going mad, and Arania must go on a journey to find out about her mother's past to save her. On the way, she will learn surprising things about herself as well.**

_(Note: Rated for certain material that is not appropriate for children.)_

**A/N: Whee! First chapter (really a prologue) of a new story. Yippee! I hope you like it. If you can't tell what fairy tale it's based on right now, that's okay, though I think I made it pretty obvious. If not, there's a whole big back story to this that will come out as the story continues. For now, read the prologue. :-) Enjoy!**

**--Arie

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Greta Longspry heard someone walking around on her porch. Curious, she went to the window. There was a girl—she couldn't be more than nineteen—lying on the porch. Her blonde hair was short and matted, as if it had not seen a comb in a long time. Her eyes were closed. Even in the half-light of the rainy day, Greta could see that the girl's face was sunburned and careworn. What struck her most, though, was that the girl was pregnant. Very pregnant.

_Poor lamb,_ she thought. _I wonder where she came from. I'd best bring her inside._

She stepped out on the porch and touched the girl on the shoulder. "Wake up, dearie. You shouldn't be out here on a day like this."

The girl woke with a start. Her blue eyes were wide with fear. She scrambled backward. "Don't touch me!"

Greta frowned. _Poor lamb,_ she thought again. "My name is Greta Longspry," she said. "You're on my porch. What's your name?"

The girl murmured something. Greta caught only the last part of it. "Zel."

"Zel? What a pretty name. Would you like to come inside, Zel? It's warm and dry in there. You look as though you could use a real bed and a bowl of stew." Greta smiled at her.

The girl hesitantly returned the smile. "All right," she said. Slowly she rose to her feet and followed Greta inside.

Over the next few hours, Zel ate and slept. When she finally woke up, she told Greta her story. Or at least, she said it was her story. Greta wasn't too sure.

"I was living in the woods. A man came to me every night and we fell in love. My mother found out I was carrying his child and I was thrown out of my house. I haven't seen the man since."

It could have happened but it was so vague. Greta thought there must be more to it than what Zel had told her but she wasn't going to press the issue.

"You poor thing," she said. "Don't you know that it's never all right for a man to lie with you without your consent?"

"But I told him it was all right," said Zel. "It was nice."

"But now you're pregnant, and the father is nowhere to be found."

Zel nodded glumly. "I know. I can't decide whether to hate him or to keep hoping he'll find me."

"He won't find you," said Greta firmly. "Men never come after a woman unless they know she's carrying their child. You never told him, so he doesn't know. Most likely he's found some other girl to marry." It was a harsh thing to say and Greta knew it. But it would be better to make the girl want to forget. Let her leave that life behind and start a new one here in Ider's Peak. It would be for the best.

Zel's eyes filled with tears again. She buried her face in her hands.

Greta hugged her gently. "Poor lamb. It'll all turn out for the best, you'll see. You can stay here with me. I'll bring you with me to work when you're feeling better. I work for Lord Bernard. He lives up there on the hill." She pointed out the window. "They need a nursemaid for some of the servants' children there. You could learn about children, to prepare yourself. Would you like that?"

Zel nodded.

"Good. As soon as you feel up to it—and when this rain stops—I'll take you up there and get you settled."

"Thank you, Greta," murmured Zel. She settled back on the bed and fell asleep again. Greta sat by the bed for a long time and thought about what Zel had told her.

A week later, Zel started work at the manor of Lord Bernard of Ider's Peak. The lord himself was an old man, with a very long, gray beard, and cloudy eyes. He was nearly deaf, almost blind, and completely toothless. He spoke in a mumble that was never quite understandable, but his face was very expressive. He was sympathetic toward the girl, and allowed her to live in the nursery with the children, instead of staying at Greta's house and taking her bed.

There were three girls and a boy at the manor. Zel seemed to like them, and they liked her. They called her Zellie. Zel played with the little girls and was happy but whenever she saw the boy, she began to cry. A week after she got there, the boy's mother stopped bringing him to work with her. Zel was grateful. Greta was worried.

Two months passed quickly. One morning the oldest girl that Zel looked after, Susan, ran into the room where Greta and Susan's mother, Helen, were sewing.

"Something's wrong with Zellie!" she said. "Come quick!"

Greta dropped her sewing and followed the girl. She knew what was happening as soon as she saw Zel. The girl was lying on the floor in a pool of water, crying and moaning.

"You're having the baby," Greta said. "You're going to be all right." Calling to two of the male servants, she had Zel carried to her room next to the nursery.

For the rest of the day, Zel cried and screamed, causing everyone in the manor to rush to the room. Greta kept most of them out until at last, two tiny bundles were laid in Zel's arms.

"There you are, love," said Greta proudly. "A darling girl and a very handsome little boy."

Zel looked at the babies, who were sleeping peacefully. "Which is the boy?" she asked weakly.

"The one in the blue blanket," said Greta, surprised.

The young mother shuddered. "Take him away," she said. "I don't want him."

Greta, and everyone else in the room, gasped. "You can't just give him away!" said Greta, horrified.

"Then kill him," said Zel. She spoke in a calm, icy tone that none of them had heard her use before. "I don't want to see him again. Take him away."

"You can't kill your own child!" said one of the maids indignantly. "It would be murder!'"

Greta gave her a look. Zel was acting strangely, but with her past Greta could almost understand. The boy reminded her of his father, whoever he was, and Zel was still trying to put that behind her. "The poor lamb doesn't know what she's saying," she said in a low whisper. "Let's take the child for now and we'll see if she doesn't come to her senses soon enough."

She took the boy from Zel. As she did, the other baby woke up and began to wail. She did not stop until Zel began to feed her.

Each morning, Greta brought the boy child to Zel, trying to get her to accept him. Each day, Zel refused to even look at him. After a week, Greta gave up. She brought the child to a poor couple in the village, a cobbler and his wife who had no children. They were glad to accept him. A few years later, the family moved away from Ider's Peak. Greta didn't bother to keep in touch with them. There was no point. Zel didn't want her other child and she would not have accepted him again if she knew where he was. Better to let the boy grow up somewhere else, with a family who would love him the way he should be loved.

The girl child was named Arania. Zel loved her. As she grew older her hair turned bright red and her eyes became a deep, serious gray. Zel kept her daughter's hair short, never letting it grow past the girl's shoulders.

Greta still didn't think that Zel had told her the whole story of how she came to be pregnant with Arania and her twin but she never asked again. Zel was considered a little strange by the villagers but they liked her well enough. They liked Arania more.

When Arania was seven years old, Lord Bernard finally passed away. He left the entire estate to Zel, who had come to be called Zella, and to Arania. Lady Zella mourned for her old friend but then she got down to the business of ruling over the town of Ider's Peak. She seemed to have finally put all thoughts of her old life out of her mind. She was a good ruler and the people liked her and her daughter. But ten years after Lord Bernard's death, Lady Zella began having nightmares.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Spider's Web**

**By: Ariebelle**

**Chapter One: Madness**

**A/N: Hello again! Thank you very much to my two reviewers, Skeptica and Aria DeLoncray. To answer your question, Skeptica, no, Lord Bernard does not have all that much to do with the story, except that he gave Zella a place to live and that after he died she inherited his land. So she's the lady of the town, which is an important point in this upcoming chapter. Speaking of which, let's get to the chapter, shall we?

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Arania woke to her mother's screams. With a sigh, she got out of bed and tiptoed to the next room. Her mother was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide in fear. Her blonde hair stuck out like a mane around her face. She was pale and she seemed unable to speak. Arania crossed to her side.

"Mother, what is it?"

Zella seemed unable to speak. Arania took her hand. She was surprised how cold it was. Gently she rubbed it between her own. "Mother, are you all right?"

Slowly Zella shook her head. "It's coming back," she said, her voice a hoarse whisper. "It'll never really leave me, will it?"

Arania had no idea what her mother was talking about. Still, she tried to comfort her mother, using the same voice Zella had used when she was small. "Yes it will," she said. "You just need to sleep. Lie back down and close your eyes. It was only a nightmare."

Zella obediently lay down but she didn't close her eyes. "The moment I try to sleep he'll be back. His face. Haunting me. All these years. Why can't I forget?"

She sat up abruptly. "Why can't I forget? I've moved on. I've started over. But every night he still comes to me. I still hear his voice. Why can't he leave me in peace?"

"Who, Mother?" Arania was confused. This was not the first time her mother had woken up after a nightmare but it was the first time she had ever babbled like this. Normally she was a very sensible woman. Something was wrong.

"No one," said Zella quickly, in a tone Arania knew. It was the tone she used when she wanted Arania to leave her alone. It was as if nothing had happened. "I'm sorry I woke you, darling. Go back to bed now. I'll be all right."

Arania stood up, still confused and worried. "Are you sure? You don't want me to stay with you?"

"I'll be fine, dearest. Go on back to bed. You need your sleep too, you know."

"Yes, Mother." Arania went back to her room. She climbed back into bed and looked up at the ceiling. What was haunting her mother's nightmares? Zella had never told anyone much about her past. Had something happened to her before she came to Ider's Peak? It was all too much to think about. Slowly, Arania drifted back to sleep, only to be woken hours later by another scream.

It was Zella again. Dutifully Arania went to her and stayed until she recovered herself. The same thing happened twice more that night, and the next night. Arania began to wonder if her mother was ill. These nightmares had been coming for a week now. No one in the house could sleep anymore. The servants whispered and rumors spread through the village. Lady Zella was going mad, or always had been mad. After another week, Arania decided to call the doctor. It was clear that Zella needed help.

Doctor Laurence was tall and skeletally thin. He had a long serious face and dark eyes that continually flashed, as if he was angry with the whole world. He examined Zella without comment then beckoned for Arania to follow him out of the room.

"Your mother is not ill," he said. Arania opened her mouth to say something. He held up a hand. "That is to say, she is not ill physically. Mentally and emotionally, she is unstable. Certain things in her past are clearly troubling her and she needs to find peace with them."

He lowered his hand again. Arania immediately asked, "Just tell me plainly, Doctor. Is my mother mad?"

"Not quite."

"So she's going mad?"

"Perhaps. If she can make peace with her past, she will be fine. But my area of expertise is physical illness, not mental. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for her."

He started to leave. Arania caught his arm. "Couldn't you give her a sleeping draft or something? Something to stop her from having those nightmares."

Doctor Laurence sighed. "I can prescribe a sleeping draft but I doubt it will do any good. She will sleep well at night but during the day she will still be haunted. She may see visions or talk to things that aren't there. There isn't anything I can do. I suggest you take over her duties as lady of the town. No one wants a madwoman ruling over us."

Arania lifted her hand as if to slap the doctor across the face. She blazed with anger. "So you're saying my mother is mad?"

"Either she is or she soon will be."

"In that case, we have no need for a sleeping draft. Leave the house now."

Doctor Laurence left without another word. After he had gone, Arania went back to her mother, who was sitting with Greta Longspry, weeping quietly. They both looked up when Arania came in.

"What did the doctor say?" asked Greta. She was the oldest and most trusted servant, the only one both Zella and Arania trusted.

"He said Mother is going mad," said Arania, still furious. "He said that she's going to start seeing visions and talking to people who aren't there. He said there's no hope for her." There were tears in her gray eyes. They burned but she refused to let them fall. "I don't believe him."

"Nor should you," said Greta, stroking Zella's hair gently. "Our Zella going mad? I don't think so. She's just ill. Aren't you, Zella?"

Zella did not seem to have heard. She continued crying. Her sobs grew louder and louder until they reached a high-pitched wail. She reached out suddenly and grabbed Greta's blouse.

"I didn't mean to!" she shouted. "I never meant to. I didn't know! Hildegarde, Mother Hildegarde, forgive me. Please, forgive me!"

Greta seemed taken aback but she patted Zella on the head as if she were a child. "Of course Hildegarde forgives you," she said. "You don't have to apologize anymore."

Zella let go. She slumped back in the chair, sobbing quietly again. Arania looked at Greta, who shook her head sorrowfully.

"Leave her to me," she said quietly. "I'll make sure she doesn't harm herself. You'd better go and deal with the others." She nodded toward the door.

Arania wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. As much as she wanted to deny it, there seemed no other explanation. Zella was going mad, or was already mad, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The servants were waiting in the hall. They backed away from the door when Arania opened it. Some of them tried to see past her, into the room. Arania closed the door and stood against it.

"My mother is very ill," she said. "She is not able to perform her duties as lady of the town. Until she is well again, I will be taking over for her. That means that you are to obey me without question. She is not going mad. She will recover, in time. I want no more rumors about madness. Is that understood?"

"Yes, lady." She was surprised to see the servants cowering against the wall.

"Good." She tried to soften her tone. "I will need all of your help. Mother has been running this town for ten years but I'm only seventeen. I don't know everything that needs to be done. Will you help me?"

"Yes, lady," they said again.

"Thank you."

She smiled at the servants and went back into the room. Her mother had stopped crying. She looked almost normal. "Arania, come here, darling," she said, holding out her arms.

Arania came. Her mother wrapped her in her arms and held her for a long time. Arania felt as if she had gone back to her childhood, a time when she was dependent on Mother, not the other way around. Greta left the room quietly and sent the other servants back to their duties. Let the ladies of the house have some privacy.

After an hour, Zella released her daughter. She stood up and walked to the window. Arania followed her. She saw her mother's face in the glow of the setting sun. There were wrinkles there she had never noticed before, and her beautiful golden hair was streaked with gray. Was she just naturally growing older or was this illness, whatever it was, making her age faster? Arania shook her head to clear it. She opened her mouth to suggest that her mother go to bed now but Zella spoke first, her voice once again taking on a strange tone.

"Don't come up here. I don't want to see you. I hate you! Go away! This was your fault. It was all your fault and I hate you for it! Why can't you leave me alone anymore?"

She was yelling at someone outside, leaning out the window so far Arania was worried she would fall out. She grabbed the back of her mother's dress and pulled her back. Zella collapsed on the floor. Arania ran for Greta.

It took both of them to get Zella to bed. She fought them, ripping Arania's dress and nearly knocking Greta down. At last they settled her in her room, closed the windows, and locked the door to the hallway. Arania sat down on the floor and sighed. She looked at Greta. "Did my mother ever tell you about her past?"

"Only a bit, when she first came. She said something about a man and a mother. I got the impression that she had been seeing him without permission and her mother found out when her pregnancy started showing and threw her out. But she never gave me any details. Why do you ask?"

"Something the doctor said. I don't want to believe he was right but, well, he said Mother needs to make peace with her past or she'll go completely mad."

"Perhaps if she's in a good mood tomorrow you can ask her about it. For now, you should go to bed too. I'll stay in here with your mother."

Arania hugged the older woman. "Thank you. I'll come in if I hear her. Good night, Greta."

"Good night, Lady Arania." Greta watched the girl go, feeling sorry for her. She had to grow up quickly now. She would have to be the lady. It was an awesome responsibility. But as Arania left, Greta got the feeling that she would be able to handle it. After all, she was Lady Zella's daughter. Lady Zella might be mad now but there was one thing she had never been and that was weak. Her daughter was the same way.

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**A/N: Hey! One more thing before I close this. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this. Thank you so much for your patience. I will try to write more on this soon. Please review:-)**


	3. Chapter 2

**The Spider's Web**

**By: Ariebelle**

**Chapter Two: Zella's Request**

**A/N: Hello again! Welcome to the second chapter (third update) of The Spider's Web. Sorry it's taken so long. But I'm getting it up today before I go on vacation for a week. **

**Warning: This chapter contains a very brief mention of lovemaking. It's so brief I don't think it's even named but if you're not comfortable with that, I'm sorry. You can sort of skip that part. It is important to the story though…**

**And now, dear friends, the next chapter.

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Arania did not get a chance to ask her mother about her past the next day, or the day after that. Zella remained in her bed, sometimes crying out to people only she could see. She wept, screamed, and spoke in a strange voice. Arania spent both days driving the servants away from her door and meeting with villagers who were concerned about Zella. By the time she found a way into her mother's room, she was sleeping.

On the third day after the doctor's visit, Arania met with more villagers. She was getting tired of explaining the same thing over and over again. She was getting particularly annoyed with the man she was speaking to now.

"I 'eard she was tryin' to kill 'erself," the man said for the third time. "That's what I 'eard, your ladyship. She tried to jump off the roof and kill 'erself. Gil the miller told me and 'e's mighty reliable, that's what 'e is. 'E said—"

Had he heard nothing she'd just told him? Arania suppressed the urge to shout down the old man's ear. "My mother did not try to kill herself. She is not mad. She is ill and until she is better, I am taking her place. I don't want you spreading that ridiculous rumor around anymore. Is that clear?"

"I 'eard—"

"You heard wrong! Go away!" Arania leapt to her feet and screamed at the man. "My mother is ill! She's just ill! She's not going mad!"

The old man scurried away, muttering to himself. Arania sat down heavily in the chair. Now he'd probably go off and say that she was losing her mind too. She had acted like an angry child, yelling like that. It was no way for a lady to act. With a sigh she rose and walked out of the room. She told the servant to send the other people away for today. She didn't want to talk to any more villagers. The only person she wanted to talk to was her mother.

Zella was still in her bed. She was staring at the canopy above her. Arania sat down in a chair near her. "Mother?"

Zella turned her head. "Darling!" Arania was pleased to see that her eyes looked normal and that she was smiling.

"Are you feeling all right, Mother? I need to ask you something."

"I feel fine, dearest. Ask away."

Arania paused, trying to find a way to phrase the question so that it wouldn't upset her mother. "I was wondering, Mother, if you could tell me, um, well, how you came here."

"How I came…" Zella trailed off. Arania bit her lip, hoping she hadn't done something wrong. But then Zella began to speak again. Her voice was still fairly normal but she did not look at her daughter.

"I was almost nineteen. He was in the forest and I suppose he heard Hildegarde calling me. When it was night, he called me and I pulled him up. He said he wanted to be my friend. I had never had a friend before, except Mother Hildegarde. He was nice. We talked all night until I let him down again. The next night he came back again, and then the next night. I think I was falling in love with him then, though I didn't know it at the time.

"One night he hugged me. It was the first time I'd ever been hugged. Hildegarde was never very affectionate. As the nights went on, we began doing more than hugging. I'll never forget the first time he kissed me. It was like magic. The next night he came back again, but he was different. I asked to do more kissing, because I had liked that. He said he wanted to teach me something new, something better than kissing. Fool that I was, I let him. When he left that morning, I was no longer a child. I had become a woman.

"The next night he came back and again he was different. He didn't remember the night before. But I asked him if we could do it again and we did. Then he promised to marry me. I would have to weave a ladder so I could climb down but then he'd take me to his home and we'd be married. Foolishly, I believed him, and I let him go.

"Somewhere in those two nights you were conceived, Arania. I didn't know it until my dresses started feeling tight. I asked Mother Hildegarde what was wrong with me. She knew. She figured it all out and grew angry. She cast me out into the desert. I never saw _him_ again.

"I wandered in that wilderness until I reached Greta's porch. She took me to Bernard, who gave me a home here. You were born a few months later. I tried to forget it all but now, now at last it's all catching up with me."

Zella sighed and closed her eyes. Arania sat in the chair. Her mind was working furiously to figure out everything she had just heard. So, it was like Greta had said. Her mother had been taken advantage of. Twice. And she had never seen the man again. Had he really planned to marry her? Or was he just saying that? Where was he now? Was he alive? Did he remember her mother? Was he married to another woman now? What had her mother meant by all that climbing up and down? Who was Mother Hildegarde? There were still so many unfinished pieces of the puzzle…

Zella grabbed her hand, startling Arania out of her thoughts. "Find him for me," she said, her voice taking on the strange tone that prefaced one of her fits. "Find him, and tell him that I hate him and I wish he was dead!"

"I will, Mother." Arania meant it. After hearing her mother's story, she wanted to find her father. She wanted to tell him exactly what she thought of him. How could he have abandoned her mother? She would find him and let him know what he had obviously not known back then: he had a daughter.

Zella relaxed on the bed. She closed her eyes and gradually fell asleep. Arania slipped out of the room and began packing her things. Tomorrow morning she would begin her search for her father.

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**And that's all the time we have for today. I'm leaving for Disney World in justa few hours! I know the chapter is short. Zella's story is really vague. There actually is a really long back story to this but obviously if I gave it all away, you'd know the plot. Hee hee. **

**The next chapter is going to be important to the story, but it's not about Arania going on a quest. You remember her twin brother? The one who Zella rejected? Yeah, he's the star of that chapter.  There's a short preview after the reviewer thank yous.**

**Thanks to the following reviewers:**

**Evo422: Thanks for the review! It didn't go through the first time but I got the second one.  I'm glad you like the story. It is sad that Zella sent her son away. He did remind her too much of his father. He'll come up again at some point. So will Arania's father. But that's all I'm saying. I don't want to give away the whole plot. **

**Aria DeLoncray: Thanks. It is indeed sad.**

**Aureusangel: First of all, do you know how hard it is to spell your name? Second, thanks for the review. My phrasing has always been a problem…I think your feeling is right. But is it that obvious? Oh boy…**

**Biancarobinson: Thanks. I'm glad you're interested.**

**And now, a small preview of the next chapter:**

_Andrew wiped his brow with the back of his hand. The manure left a brown streak on his forehead. He continued shoveling. The work was disgusting but he had to do it. It was his job, and it earned them a bit more money to put food on the table._

"_Are you trying to look like a savage, Andy? Or are you just experimenting with the benefitial properties of manure on the human skin?"_

_Andrew looked up. Rachel. Great. That was just what he needed. He raised his hand to wipe his forehead again but remembered that there was more manure on it. It wouldn't do any good. He changed the gesture into a wave. "Good morning, princess. Here to ride your horse?"_

_Rachel grinned. "Nope. Just here to bother you."_

"_As always." Andy rolled his eyes. Rachel was his best friend—except for her brother Daniel—but he liked pretending to be annoyed with her._

**Okay, that was kind of a long preview. I hope you liked it. Please review this chapter and I'll get the next one done shortly after I get home. I hope…**

**Toodles!**

**--Arie--**


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